1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a drag switch device, and particularly to a spinning-reel drag switch device configured to switch between a drag mechanism activation state and a deactivation state, the drag mechanism configured to brake a spool coupled to an oscillation mechanism that is configured to reciprocate the spool back and forth in response to rotation of a handle that is attached to a reel unit of a spinning reel.
2. Background Information
It is well-known that spinning reels are generally provided with a drag mechanism configured to regulate spool rotation in a fishing line release direction. Further, the spinning reels include a drag switch device configured to switch the drag mechanism between a braking state and a non-braking state. For example, Laid-open Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-2008-199979 describes a spinning reel of the foregoing type.
In the well-known spinning reels, the drag switch device is generally provided with a drag switch lever mounted to a reel unit. The drag switch lever is pivotable between a braking position and a non-braking position. In this case, the braking position corresponds to the foregoing brake state whereas the non-braking position corresponds to the foregoing non-braking state. The drag switch lever includes a shaft part. The shaft part is disposed closer to a fishing-rod attachment than a rotation shaft of the handle (i.e., a master gear shaft) is. In short, the shaft part is positioned higher than the rotation shaft of the handle. Simultaneously, the shaft part is disposed behind the rotation shaft of the handle. Further, the shaft part is disposed in parallel to the master gear shaft. The drag switch lever is configured to pivot between the braking position (corresponding to the braking state) and the non-braking position (corresponding to the non-braking state). The drag switch device includes a switch mechanism and a return mechanism. The switch mechanism is configured to switch the drag mechanism between the braking state and the non-braking state in response to the pivoting of the drag switch lever. On the other hand, the return mechanism is configured to cause the switch mechanism to switch the drag mechanism to the braking state from the non-braking state in conjunction with rotation of the handle in the fishing line winding direction.
The return mechanism includes a second gear member, a kick member, and a return member. The second gear member meshes with a first gear member mounted to the rotation shaft of the handle. The kick member is mounted to the second gear member. The return member is configured to return the drag switch lever to the braking position from the non-braking position in response to action of the kick member. The second gear member is disposed closer to the fishing-rod attachment than the face gear shaft is. Further, the second gear member is disposed between the face gear shaft and the shaft part of the drag switch lever. The return member is unitarily pivotable with the drag switch lever.
In the foregoing return mechanism, the second gear member rotates in response to rotation of the handle in the fishing line winding direction. When the second gear member rotates, the kick member rotates in the same direction as the second gear member and kicks (i.e., hits) the return member. When the return member is hit, the drag switch lever returns to the braking position from the non-braking position.
According to the foregoing drag switch device, the second gear and the kick member are disposed between the face gear shaft and the shaft part of the drag switch lever while being disposed closer to the fishing-rod attachment than the face gear shaft is. The structure achieves a relatively compact disposition of the return mechanism. However, the structure has a drawback in that the kick member and the shaft part are required to be close to each other. This makes it difficult to design a kick member provided with a long arm. Consequently, enough large torque cannot be produced when the kick member hits the return member in response to rotation of the second gear member. In other words, the handle must be strongly rotated in the fishing line winding direction to return the drag switch lever to the braking position from the non-braking position.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved spinning-reel drag switch device for reducing the force required for a return action of the drag switch device as much as possible. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.